Search
As responsible brothers or as brothers and sisters who are co-workers, if we have any problems in life or in service, we should fellowship together and seek the Lord’s leading. I hope that we can have more fellowship concerning the Body of Christ; this kind of fellowship is good and important.
Let us fellowship locality by locality concerning the problems in our localities or concerning the problems among the co-workers and responsible brothers. We can fellowship together and be enlightened together. We should not be afraid of feeling embarrassed or ashamed when speaking of our problems. We are all weak, and we all have problems.
The church in Taipei has about seven thousand three hundred brothers and sisters and has seven districts. Apparently, this is a large number. We have two main problems. First, although we have records for seven thousand three hundred saints, we cannot locate over one thousand of them, and there are only one thousand seven hundred or one thousand eight hundred saints who attend the Lord’s day meeting in the districts. This is our poor condition.
Second, in our service there is a great shortage in the coordination; this is shameful. Although we want the saints to rise up, we do not have a way. There are close to fifty co-workers, elders, and full-time serving brothers and sisters here, but the more people we have, the more problems we have in our coordination. Outwardly, everything seems calm and peaceful among the brothers and sisters. There are no troubles, arguments, or sinful and worldly things. However, although we serve together, we cannot pray together. Everyone seems to have some knowledge concerning the flesh, but whenever a situation arises, we all have our opinions. This makes it very difficult to coordinate with one another; therefore, our service is very weak. In addition, the full-time serving ones seldom bear responsibility in the meetings; they seem to have no desire to prepare themselves to be a mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit. Thus, when the Holy Spirit comes to them, they cannot be a mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit. As a result, the meetings are very weak, lacking God’s presence because God cannot find His mouthpiece.
First, we are ashamed that few are attending the meetings. Second, our meetings should be wonderful because we have so many full-time serving ones in the coordination in our service. However, this is not our situation because the serving ones are full of the flesh. Although they dare not contend or argue outwardly, they bear grudges inwardly; thus, they cannot be the mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit in the meetings. If the inward problems are not removed, the Holy Spirit will be unable to rule in us or have a way to go on among us. As a result, we cannot see the authority of the Holy Spirit and the glory of God in the meetings.
The problem with the coordination in the church in Taipei is that, although we have many responsible brothers and full-time serving ones, we do not bear the responsibility together. Rather, we bear some responsibility or we serve only after it has been arranged. The result is that everyone serves only according to his arranged portion. Consequently, the brothers and sisters all feel that they do not receive real help. In other words, the co-workers hold on tightly to their own small portion of service, and they bear only their burden and responsibility. Thus, one bears his own small portion, I bear my own small portion, and everyone bears his or her own small burden. As a result, we are short in opening our problems to one another, short in praying together before the Lord, and short in bearing the burden together. Hence, some serving ones feel very lonely, because they feel that they are serving and bearing responsibilities by themselves. There is a great lack in rendering real help to one another and laboring with one another.
Second, some brothers and sisters feel that submission to authority is obeying only what has been assigned to them. Therefore, if they encounter something that is not their responsibility or something they have not been charged to do by the leading brothers, they are unwilling to do it. As a result, our situation can be compared to that of a government office in ancient China or to an organization. For example, one Friday night a brother from another locality arrived at the meeting hall. He placed his luggage on a bench and waited there. Although some brothers in the hall, including deacons and full-time serving ones, saw this brother, no one took care of him. It was not their responsibility. Of course, someone in the church had been assigned to take care of hospitality, but because he was not present, no one took care of this brother or showed any concern. What kind of condition is this? We give people the impression that our coordination is not living. It seems that in the matter of service, we move only when we are pushed, and if we are not pushed, we would rather stand aside than be bold and move.
Therefore, it seems as if the result of learning to obey and submit to authority is that each one takes care of only his responsibility. Broken glass in the meeting hall or lights not being turned off at night are not our business; it is Brother So-and-so’s responsibility. This is the situation we see in Taipei. On the other hand, some brothers think that they are overstepping their limit and going beyond the leading brothers’ arrangement if they do what has not been assigned to them. They think that this is disobedience, not submitting to authority. It is common in many local churches for a serving one not to care about anything that has not been assigned to him, but he will hold on tightly and be very diligent with whatever has been assigned to him by the leading brothers. As a result, everyone feels lonely because there is not the real coordination. We cannot find those who bear problems and burdens together.
Our lack of care is the reason for the low attendance in the meetings when there are so many brothers and sisters. If we consider this matter from the perspective of gospel preaching, our situation is because we pay attention only to saving sinners. We are not interested in how they meet and serve in the church after they are saved. However, the gospel is spread not merely by preaching but by the multiplication of life. The measure of life in a church determines how far the gospel can go. From a broader perspective, there are many people in Christianity who pay attention to preaching the gospel. They have a slogan that they want to evangelize the whole world, to spread the gospel over the entire earth. Some among them have even said, “We do not know anything else. We only know to preach the gospel, and our only desire is for the gospel to go out and save people.” Apparently, this word sounds very touching and reasonable, but at the same time, it fits the taste of typically zealous Christians. Many Christians may not respond if we speak to them about other matters, but they will respond if we speak of being zealous to preach the gospel.
However, the facts prove that those who focus on the zealous preaching of the gospel do not have much result. This is because there is no container after the gospel is preached to hold and retain the result. Since there is no container to hold the result of the gospel, the advancement of the gospel is affected. Thus, even after many years the so-called gospel movement in Christianity has never succeeded. Strictly speaking, the gospel does not go out by preaching; the gospel goes out by growing. When the life of a church grows to a certain degree, the gospel spontaneously goes out. Therefore, we cannot pay attention only to the spreading of the gospel while ignoring the increase and growth of life. We will be unable to spread the gospel widely or promote any activities of the gospel if we focus merely on spreading the gospel, ignoring the increase and growth of life. This is true from both the spiritual perspective and from the perspective of facts and logic.
Many years ago we seriously warned the saints that we cannot focus only on preaching the gospel and ignore the increase and growth of life. If we do this, one day the gospel will be hindered, and we will be unable to move forward. For example, if a local church that is young and has only a limited measure of life focuses simply on preaching the gospel and helping people to be saved, they will only be able to beget children who are like them. Those who are young in life will only be able to bring in ones who are young in life. This is one aspect.
Those who are brought in through our zealous preaching will not receive much supply or be sustained by the fellowship in the meetings. They are just as newborn babes who will die without proper feeding or care. For this reason outside the church we do not bear much testimony before men, and inside the church the brothers and sisters are discouraged in the matter of preaching the gospel. This will continue until the preaching of the gospel comes to a standstill. Therefore, we have repeatedly cried out, saying, “If a church does not pay attention to preaching the gospel, let it be, but if a church focuses on preaching the gospel, we must begin with life, spreading outward from life.” This will keep us from repeating the mistake of Christianity — having activities of the gospel without the foundation of life and having the fruit of the gospel without the support of life.
Twenty years ago Dr. John Sung led thousands of people to repentance and belief in the Lord in China; however, not many of them remained. This is because there was not a strong church to hold them. This can be compared to drawing water from a well; if we do not have a container large enough to hold the water, it will be poured on the ground and will gradually return to the earth. Gospel movements bring people to salvation through a kind of gospel revival, but if people have no place to go, and no one is responsible to feed and take care of them, they will be lost. This is a great problem.
We must have a place to store water after it is drawn up from a well. The condition of gospel preaching in Christianity is that there is no appropriate place to feed the saved ones. Sending new ones to some denominations can be compared to putting hot food into a refrigerator. If a newly saved and burning believer is sent to meet in a denomination, after a short time he will become cold and return to where he was before his salvation. This is because the meetings there can be compared to a refrigerator.
The low attendance in our meetings proves that our church is weak in life. Our life has not come up to the level of the move of the gospel, and our life cannot hold the result of the gospel. We have gained two hundred baptized ones, but we do not have the capacity that is needed to support two hundred people. This can be compared to parents who beget twelve children but do not have the ability to raise them. There is a begetting ability but not a nurturing ability. Since the parents have no consideration as to how to raise and educate their children, they can only stand by as their children grow and die on their own.
This is the reason that the attendance in our regular meetings drops after we hold a special conference. Our neglecting the growth of life while focusing on the spread of the gospel brings us to a dead end. Therefore, we need to catch up in the matter of life. I hope that all the churches would pay attention to the growth in life so that we can match the move of the gospel. We must see that only the increase of life can retain the result of the gospel.
According to church history, the growth in life in the church was the origin of the spread of the gospel to China by Western missionaries. The growth of life in the church in Western countries produced a group of Christians who were sent by the Lord to preach the gospel in China. These Western missionaries were the issue of the growth of life in the church in the West, and the issue of this growth in life brought the gospel to the coast of China. However, this gospel later stopped, and no matter how much people tried to push it forward, it could not go on. Thus, life needed to grow in China in order for the gospel to continue. This can be compared to sowing a seed. People brought the seed here from America. We now need to sow the seed into the earth and let it grow so that it can fall into the earth again. The process of growing and falling, falling and growing, is the real spreading of the gospel.
Seemingly, the gospel goes out by preaching, but actually, the gospel goes out by growing. This is also true among us. After we came to Taiwan, we were very busy preaching the gospel the first few years, and the brothers and sisters had a strong desire and burden to preach the gospel. However, today gospel preaching is weakened because our life has not caught up — our life does not match the result of the gospel.
Coordination in service is a matter of our need for the Lord’s mercy; it is not a matter of doctrine. We need the Lord’s mercy so that as serving ones we would be willing to receive the inward shining and breaking before the Lord. Any kind of method, instruction, organization, and even arrangement cannot cause us to have a good coordination. Only when we are willing to receive the breaking work of the Holy Spirit can we have real coordination. All the brothers and sisters are clear about this in theory, but I am afraid that we lack a heart of desiring mercy and receiving mercy. Thus, we miss the opportunity to experience coordination.
As long as we have a heart and are willing to receive mercy and the breaking and shining, our coordination will not be a difficult matter. Because the saints have all learned some lessons in the church life, they do not desire to contend and dare not contend. However, because there is not enough shining, although there is no outward contention or argument, they are unable to get through within. This is to be short of mercy. Any kind of speaking and exhortation is useless; we need God’s mercy. Our responsibility is to allow the Lord to be merciful to us and to receive His shining in the meeting.
We often do not have a sense of spiritual responsibility in the meetings. There may be several reasons for this. Sometimes too many practical church matters occupy us. As much as possible, we should reduce our involvement in these matters so that we have time to prepare for spiritual matters. For example, instead of putting their time and heart into spiritual matters, some full-time serving brothers and sisters are busy mostly with practical church matters. So when they come to a meeting, they are very low in their spirit and over time become indifferent. They would tell themselves, “I will let the Holy Spirit move others. I will let others bear the burden. I am too tired. This is my resting time.” The main reason for this is that they are busy with too many practical church matters.
Besides not allowing ourselves to be entangled by practical church matters, we also must be able to receive the Lord’s commission. This is a matter of receiving mercy. We must be willing to receive mercy in order to receive the Lord’s burden, the Lord’s commission. Take the church in Taipei as an example. Some brothers are indifferent in the meetings, not bearing any burden, and they merely sit and rest. However, when they are not in the meetings, they are busy, working unceasingly. It seems as if the meeting time is their Sabbath. During the other six days they are constantly busy, and on the seventh day they rest. Do not think that I am joking. This is a fact. However, if such a brother moves to a new place and becomes a responsible one, he will be unable to sleep at night because the burdens are too heavy. When he comes to the meetings, he will pray, select hymns, and exhort others. What is this? This shows that he has begun to have a sense of responsibility and to bear the burden of the meeting.
Consider the example of the brother who traveled from another locality and put his luggage in the courtyard of the meeting hall, while the full-time serving ones and deacons did nothing. If we send these full-time serving ones and deacons to a small locality as responsible ones, I believe that they would regard this visiting brother as an angel and would rejoice greatly. They would receive this brother warmly because they have a sense of responsibility.
Another reason can be that in such a big family as the church in Taipei, because there are many capable and experienced ones, we do not think that we need to be responsible. If we try to be responsible, we might cause trouble. If we do a good job, it is out of duty, but if we do a bad job, we will be rebuked. Therefore, it seems better to be wise and indifferent. In this way we think we are avoiding many problems and causing less trouble. However, if we go to a small locality, everyone must bear responsibility and make decisions. If we do a bad job, no one rebukes us, and if we do a good job, we receive all the credit. This is totally different from being in a big church, where if we do a good job, all the credit seems to go to the responsible brothers, but if we do a bad job, we are rebuked. Although we may fall into this condition unconsciously, this is an abnormal situation.
Please keep in mind that if a serving one can bear responsibility only when he goes to a certain place, his responsibility is of the flesh. His bearing of responsibility only when he gets to a place where he can be “responsible” is of the flesh. Everyone who serves the Lord needs to learn a deep lesson before the Lord. We should learn not to hold on to any work that has been committed to us. At any time and at any place we must be able to receive the Lord’s commission. Whether there is an arrangement or authority, our fellowship with the Lord, our concern for people, and our care for souls should be the same.
Suppose a brother arrives at the meeting hall and puts his luggage in the courtyard. If we are in fellowship with the Lord and care for people, we will go and serve him. This is not a matter of authority or responsibility. We should ask him kindly, “Where do you come from? May I help you put your luggage inside the hall?” This is a matter of spiritual life and not a matter of responsibility or authority. It is probably not life if we take care of things only because we are responsible. Not having the expression of life in one place but doing something out of responsibility in another place is not of life.
If we love the Lord and love people, we will definitely contact people before and after the meeting. Before a gospel preaching meeting we will go and find people. Before and after other meetings we will fellowship with the brothers and sisters. We should always receive a commission from the Lord when we contact people, either receiving help from others or rendering help to them. We should conduct ourselves the same way in a large locality as in a small locality. No matter where we are, we should be the same. In this way what we do will most likely be of life. These matters do not depend upon exhortation, arrangement, or encouragement; they depend upon our willingness to receive mercy and the Lord’s shining.
There is often no outward contention among the churches in matters related to spiritual supply or practical help, but there is much inward contention. This shows that something is still hidden within us, and we have not been broken in our service. Our natural being remains, and the service entrusted to us is strongly attached to us. This problem does not exist only among the churches; it exists even among different halls within the same church. For example, a certain co-worker who is capable of supplying the saints may be available one Lord’s day to go to one of the halls and minister to the saints. When the responsible brothers of the various halls learn of this, they may begin to negotiate among themselves. The first hall may say that the second hall is strong and does not need any extra help; the second hall may say that the third hall has only a few saints and thus has no need for the co-worker to go there. After much negotiation each one retains his own understanding, and no one has been struck down in their inner being.
It is the same in matters related to help in practical affairs. Everyone may appear outwardly courteous, but inwardly everyone has his own opinion. This proves that we have not prostrated ourselves before the Lord. We should not be happy simply because the church in our locality is strong; we can have real joy only when the church of the Lord is strong. Although we have been entrusted with responsibility, we should not be attached to the responsibility. We should be faithful unto death, but we should not be attached to the service. We should not feel happy and satisfied because the hall where we are responsible is strong; rather, we should feel happy and satisfied because the Lord’s church is strong.
We must see that man is selfish and that even in spiritual matters man can express the selfishness of the flesh. Sometimes, this selfishness is hidden; instead of contending for ourselves, we contend for the work for which we bear responsibility, and we even openly contend, thinking it is justifiable. We need to see that even in the responsibility that the Lord entrusted to us, we should not have any selfishness; we must prostrate ourselves before the Lord. There is no method that can solve this problem. This problem is dealt with only by receiving the Lord’s mercy and allowing the Holy Spirit to do a breaking work in us.
The number of people in the church in Kaohsiung is much less than in the church in Taipei, but in principle, all the problems mentioned above are also in Kaohsiung, and there may be even more. Two years ago we reached one thousand four hundred saints, but today there are only a little over this number. There has been no increase in the number of saints during the last two years. Although some have been saved, not many remain. This is our problem.
Concerning our coordination, there are problems in every place, and the most serious problem is the problem among the responsible ones. If the responsible ones did not have problems, there would be no problems in the church. All the problems are due to a few leading ones. Some of the leading ones are aware of the problem, but others are not conscious of it at all. Even though our present coordination does not result in many problems or arguments, it is not strong. Although we often fellowship and pray together, we are not very open in our fellowship. I hope that through Brother Lee’s leading in this matter, we can have more openness in our coordination. Due to this lack of openness we have suffered a great loss. The lack of openness in the coordination of the different districts has resulted in barriers because the districts do not know what the other districts are doing. As a result, we are weak in our service. I hope that Brother Lee can give us some help on this point.
In addition, some saints with a heart to serve were brought in, but they have been unable to learn and become useful through our present arrangement. In other words, there are not many who can be group leaders. This lack of group leaders has caused many of those who were brought in to backslide. Our real lack is a failure of the responsible brothers of the church to perfect the group leaders. Furthermore, a great problem in our taking the lead in the church is that we are short of the supply of the word. There is a shortage of the supply of the word in the meetings, and there is also a shortage of the stirring-up word in the service; this is a great problem. This problem cannot go away in a day or two. This requires the Lord’s special mercy.
Furthermore, in taking care of the young brothers and sisters, the greatest difficulty is the matter of marriage. On the one hand, we are short of people who have the burden to serve in this matter; on the other hand, it is not easy for the young people to receive guidance. How should we take care of this?
The openness in coordination depends entirely upon breaking. If a person has not been broken, even his being open is natural. Some people open their door but do not know when to close it; their door is always open. This is something of their natural being and is useless; besides, it can bring in many troubles. Some people are born without a door and without windows; they are closed persons. Some people have a doorway and windows, but because they do not have a door or windowpanes, their doorway and windows are always open. All these situations are wrong. If there is a doorway, there also should be a door. When guests come, we should open the door, but when dogs and cats come, we should shut the door quickly. We should be able to open and close every door and window. However, some of us cannot open, and others cannot close. Both those who cannot open and those who cannot close need to be broken.
In the church life we often meet people who are open to everything, but there is no benefit in this. There are also people who can be compared to a steel wall — no one can touch what is within them because their whole being is closed. They are so closed that no one can tell if they are happy or sad. In discussing a certain matter with them, we cannot tell whether they agree or disagree. However, as far as loving the Lord is concerned, they truly love the Lord; as far as loving the brothers is concerned, they genuinely love the brothers; and as far as service is concerned, they are even very diligent. But regrettably they are closed. They will do everything we may ask them to do, but we cannot tell whether they do it willingly or unwillingly. We cannot touch what is within them. We may bear some responsibility for a meeting with them and even discuss a certain matter together, but when we speak to them, they do not even move their eyes. They simply listen quietly, and when we finish speaking, they get up and leave. If we were to ask them whether they agree or disagree, they would not express anything; to them, both are right and neither is right. There are such people among us. No matter how angry others are, they will not become angry, and no matter how hard people laugh, they remain unmoved. Such ones cannot open themselves properly until they have been broken in their natural life.
A person who has learned spiritual lessons and has been deeply broken before the Lord can be quite open, but his being open is very appropriate. This kind of person knows to what degree he should be open and to what degree he should be closed. He can open to others what needs to be opened and keep to himself what does not need to be opened. If we have learned the spiritual lesson, we will know whether our opening to people is natural or spiritual. This is a matter of being shown mercy.
There was a brother who was “led” to fellowship with us. We did not know whether this “leading” was of the flesh and the natural being or of the Holy Spirit and revelation. He said, “Our problem is that we have too many complaints within us. We do not open to one another; instead, we hold the problems within. So let us learn to open ourselves to one another.” We all felt the same way and said it would be good. However, when we opened up, we quarreled and rebuked one another. That was probably the most serious quarreling and criticizing in the history of the church in that locality. There was an opening, but the opening issued in rebuking. Some took credit for all the accomplishments, some complained that they were despised, and still others felt that they were misunderstood. What is this? This is absolutely the openness of the flesh. Thus, to be open is not necessarily good. Only when a person is broken can he have a real and proper openness.
Being open depends altogether upon whether we know the Body and whether we know the church. It is a matter of being shown mercy. The openness of a person who has been shown mercy is spiritual and fitting. His being closed is also spiritual, fitting, and proper. This is not a matter of being taught or learning a method; it is a matter of being shown mercy and of being broken before the Lord.
The matter of group leaders is the same in principle as leading new believers. The co-workers and responsible brothers are often limited in their capacity to lead people; a person may be able to lead fifty people but not sixty. This can be compared to schoolteachers. A teacher may be able to teach a class of fifty students yet unable to teach a class of eighty students. If he tries to teach the eighty students, thirty will definitely be neglected. Thus, anyone who desires to lead people must grow in life; only through the growth in life can our capacity to lead people be increased.
The responsibility to lead people should be given to others. The responsible ones should not be the only ones who can lead people. We should always give others the responsibility to lead people so that they can learn to lead people as well. We all need to learn this spiritual lesson.
From the perspective of the work, the most useful worker or responsible brother is one who can work and bring others along to do the same work. In other words, we can lead others to be group leaders, and we can also teach others to lead people. In this way, if there are presently a few of us taking the lead and helping others, in a year there will be five or six people who can help others to be responsible ones. In order to do this, we need to learn some lessons and receive the Lord’s breaking. A person who has been broken can work by himself and can also bring others along to work with him. One who has not been broken will always think that his work is the best. It is not easy for such a one to bring others along; he needs a deeper breaking.
It is difficult to serve the saints in regard to marriage. We are caught between two difficulties. One is the matter of our Chinese culture, and the other is the matter of the church. Because of these two matters it is difficult to help the brothers and sisters concerning their marriage. In principle, we need to lead them in life and instruct them in truth. This requires us to have fellowship with them in order to lead them in their marriage. On the one hand, the age we are in poses many difficulties in regard to marriage; on the other hand, we need to pay attention to the spiritual aspect. We are situated between these two difficulties, and this is not easy. The older brothers and sisters in the church should bear some responsibility to help young people in the matter of marriage. In doing this, they should not put in their own feelings. People with too many feelings cannot touch the matter of marriage; everything will become a big mess, and there will be no ability to clear up the situation.
Second, we must have a genuine care for people. We should not serve in this matter simply because we love to do this kind of thing and have a feeling for this. Rather, it should be that we are concerned about this matter before the Lord. We care for the young people, and we desire to serve them in the matter of marriage according to our burden. We must have this kind of concern; otherwise, we cannot do this.
Third, we need to have patience. Some brothers and sisters expect an instant success when they introduce two young saints to each other. They are upset and discouraged when the introduction fails. However, we need to have patience; to be patient means not to be anxious. If we desire to serve the young people, we should help them in a good way. We should observe them, look at every aspect carefully, and help them little by little. This cannot be rushed. Therefore, we need to have patience.
Fourth, we must be honest yet wise. Honesty and wisdom are not the same. Some people become false in their attempt to be wise, and some people expose others through their honesty. A “wise” person may try to describe a brother as being perfect and a sister as being flawless, but after the two are married, they realize that this is not the case. An honest person may be honest to the point of having no discernment; he may disclose certain hidden matters related to both the brother and sister. This “honesty” negates the intention of introducing the brother and sister. This is truly difficult. Thus, we all need to learn some lessons; we need to be honest yet wise, and we need to be wise yet honest. Nevertheless, we should not say, “Since this is so hard, we should forget about it and not do it. We are not men of wood — how can we not have feelings? Besides, we also need to be patient and wise, yet because this is difficult, we cannot do it.” If we say this, we will miss the opportunity to experience the Lord’s grace.
Today we truly need a group of older saints who can rise up and care for this matter. They should do this properly, according to the manner of the saints, the teaching of the Bible, and the real spiritual condition of the brothers and sisters. This requires them to meet these four conditions. If we introduce the brothers and sisters in a careless way, there will not be much benefit; on the contrary, it may even cause them to suffer loss spiritually.
Concerning the time for prayer, we should use it properly and be calm before the Lord. Excited prayer may not cause people to touch spiritual matters; however, this does not mean that we are against excited prayer. We all know from our experience that it is mainly when we are calm that we can touch spiritual reality and the things that are of God in our prayer. If we are in an excited and lively mood, we may suffer more loss than we gain. Therefore, when we pray together, we should try our best to be calm before the Lord and seek the Lord with a calm spirit. Of course, sometimes the Holy Spirit may do something exceptional and stir us up to become excited, but generally speaking, we should not be overly excited when we are together.
